PCRWR plans to conduct research on contamination level

Islamabad

Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) plans to conduct research on the contamination level in Islamabad nullahs, once fresh water streams.

Talking to ‘The News’, Director General Water Quality, PCRWR, Lubna Naheed Bukhari said that these nullahs were once fresh water streams and served as water resource for the capital. “If these nullahs are cleaned and separate route for drain and waste water is created, these natural water streams can be preserved which cannot only add to the beauty of the capital but will also serve as a clean water resource for the residents,” suggested Lubna.

Islamabad has a network of these nullahs that currently contribute in polluting the capital's environment. These nullahs run through Sectors F-6, F-7, F-8, F-10, F-11, G-6, G-7, G-8 and G-9. “Unfortunately, these nullahs are polluted from very start as they enter the capital. More and more drainage and industrial and hospital waste is added to the water as it passes through different sectors,” added Lubna.

Ignored for many years, these nullahs have now become the favourite garbage dumping ground for slum dwellers, domestic sweepers and others. The sewage from illegal private lines also flows into them.

According to data shared by Director General Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in a meeting of Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights, the capital city has about 26 small and large streams which take hill torrent and rain water and pass through different residential sectors and finally converge to two main streams when they leave Islamabad.

In these streams, the Dissolved Oxygen after mixing of waste was found as low as 0.9 mg/l and Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) were found as high as 63.5 mg/l and 162.5 mg/l respectively. The levels of heavy metals like lead, cadmium were also found exceeding the National Environmental Quality Standards (NEQS) as the streams pass down through the industrial area of sector I-9/I-10.

According to statistics, there are 9 steel furnaces, 16 steel-rerolling, 5 oil and ghee mills, 31 marbles cutting and polishing units, 9 plastic units, 10 pharmaceuticals and 23 meal cutting units operating in and around Islamabad.

Due to discharge of domestic waste and leakages of municipal sewers, these streams get high pollution load and in low rain season these streams stink and become breading places for mosquitoes.

During heavy rains in monsoon season, these nullahs overflow in many areas. Last year, these nullahs took many lives in Islamabad and adjoining areas. Experts believe that the layer of waste at nullah’s bed has increased the water level which results in overflowing of these dirty streams during rainy season. In addition, the rain water remained stagnant on main roads for hours because the original path of water is almost chocked at many points due to dumping of garbage.

Lubna said that PCRWR will collect water samples from different points of nullahs before and after the rainy season. “This way we will be able to find the level and types of pollutant in different parts of the city and the effect of rain on them,” she said adding that same exercise will be simultaneously done with Korang and Soan Rivers to estimate the level of contamination in water supplied to Rawalpindi. She said that the first sample will be collected before Ramazan.